1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for supporting reeds upon the mouthpiece of musical instruments, and in particular to a ligature for supporting a reed upon the mouthpiece of a single-reed musical wind instrument, and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A considerable variety of musical wind instruments require the use of a ligature, or reed-supporter, to secure a single reed to the mouthpiece of the instrument. There is a vibrational cooperation between the mouthpiece, reed, and ligature when the instrument is played that directly affects the quality of the sound achieved. This cooperation is well known in the art, and various approaches have been implemented to attain the finest sound.
When a reed is supported upon the mouthpiece of a single-reed instrument, the ligature must contact both the reed and the mouthpiece in order to properly secure the reed to the mouthpiece. The areas of contact between the ligature and the reed, and between the ligature and the mouthpiece affect the vibrational cooperation of the assembly.
A typical mouthpiece used with a single reed wind instrument has a tapered, generally round body with an exposed open end upper section, and an exposed closed end lower section flattened to form a table upon which the reed is supported. A typical reed has a relatively flat upper surface, which contacts the table of the mouthpiece, and a curved lower surface which is contacted by the ligature. The mouthpiece is substantially hollow and acts as a resonance chamber when the instrument is played.
Several common goals are pursued by the interaction of a reed, a mouthpiece, and one of the various ligatures available on the market today. An instrumentalist is desirous of having the reed quickly respond when attacked thereby providing necessary flexibility and control of the instrument. Full, dark, rich, and mellow tonal qualities are sought. Enhancement of the overall performance of an instrument is of paramount concern.
The ultimate goal is superior performance of an instrument as determined by the subjective analysis of the individual instrumentalist playing a particular instrument. Subjective satisfaction instills a great deal of confidence in instrumentalists thereby allowing them to perform at their pinnacle.
Most prior art ligatures primarily focused on the vibration enhancement of the reed, or the mouthpiece. U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,866 issued to Toof on Mar. 28, 1978 discloses a ligature that supports a reed upon a mouthpiece by applying pressure at two points along the longitudinal center portion of the reed. Toof provides a pair of longitudinally spaced rigid bars transverse to the reed that create two points of contact upon the apex of the curved lower surface of the reed. The points of contact being along the longitudinal center portion of the reed allows the lateral portions of the reed to vibrate. The substrate, or clamping band portion, of the ligature remains flush against the mouthpiece.
One primary goal of ligature design is to provide more freedom of vibration for a single reed when supported upon a mouthpiece. U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,170 issued to Gigliotti on Nov. 12, 1968 discloses a ligature provided with longitudinal non-damping spacers depending from the inner surface of the ligature. The spacers hold the main portion of the ligature out of direct contact with the body of the mouthpiece, and contact is effected only at the areas under the spacers. The surface area of each spacer contacting the mouthpiece is relatively wide. Gigliotti found that the use of the spacers resulted in greater vibration in the mouthpiece than was found without their use thereby enhancing the desirability of the musical instrument as a whole. Furthermore, Gigliotti provides three buttons along each side of the ligature's longitudinal split that secure the reed to the mouthpiece. The buttons are spaced longitudinally and contact the reed along its mid-apex regions. The theory being to provide the least amount of contact between the ligature and the reed at these specific points, thereby allowing the reed more freedom of vibration.
Another prior art ligature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,440 issued to Ratterree on Nov. 9, 1971. The approach of Ratterree is to provide a ligature constructed from a relatively narrow band that allows more freedom of vibration in the mouthpiece rather than the reed. The ligature is provided with four inwardly directed longitudinal flanges that space the ligature substrate from the mouthpiece. Two of the flanges make a relatively wide surface contact with the mouthpiece, while the other two make a relatively narrow line of contact. A pair of flanges depend from the interior surface of the substrate and contact the reed near its mid-apex regions to support it upon the mouthpiece.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,433,113 issued to Portnoy on Mar. 18, 1969, the disclosure of which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference, discloses a ligature designed to allow a maximum amount of the heel portion of the reed to vibrate simultaneously with the upper or tapered end of the reed. This is accomplished by four small reed-holding lugs positioned on the curved top central portion of the heel of the reed. The lugs are longitudinally spaced and contact the reed close to its apex region. This positioning allows the sides of the heel, and the intermediate portion of the heel across its entire width to more fully vibrate together. The lugs make relatively small surface contact with the reed and are longitudinally connected by elevated cross-bar-supports that create more rigidity in the ligature.
It is recognized that the ability of the ligature to vibrate sympathetically with the reed contributes significantly to the overall performance of a wind instrument. Suspending the substrate, or clamping band portion, of the ligature away from the mouthpiece not only facilitates vibration of the mouthpiece, but also enhances the ligature's ability to vibrate sympathetically with the reed, which consequently enhances the reed's vibration.